Regrets of a Wayward Shinobi
by irishauthor94
Summary: Naruto and Sasuke's battle at the valley of the end grinds to a halt, As Sasuke does something which he will regret for the rest of his life and discovers that EVERY action has a consequence. my First fic. at the very least please leave constructive criticism.
1. Battle in the Valley

**A/N**** Hello! I'm Irishauthor94 and welcome to my first Story! Now to address a few things: I like to believe that my literacy skills and writing style are at the very least decent. That being said I will make mistakes, (Knowing me I will make plenty of them.) however I am not doing this to flaunt my linguistic talents. I am merely a College Student with some free time and some decent ideas.**

**Now without further ado, on to the story.**

An ominous crash rang out throughout the Valley of the End and its surrounding area, those who lived in this continent of Shinobi sovereignty, creatures both civilized and wild could discern the signs and sounds of a battle. They knew that the site of said battle was not where they wanted to be right now, and who can blame them for this reaction? After all, the Valley itself was formed by a battle, a battle of two talented, former comrades turned against one another, if the earth itself were sentient; it would be experiencing déjà vu.

Two young teenagers, both 13, both with hands outstretched towards each other, were positioned at the centre of the valley. their outstretched arms were obscured by blinding blue and white Chakra, the fast hum and whine of rotating energy, added to the chirping, crack of electricity. This being the only, deafening soundtrack to a stalemate of unrelenting power, the effort being made to at least maintain the stalemate for the time-being was clearly visible on both boys' faces. the water beneath them being was being turned to a roaring maelstrom by the force of their attacks. Their struggle continued for what seemed like an eternity. Then with an almighty CRACK the struggle ended. Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha were both sent flying in opposite directions by the discharge of their now-overloaded signature attacks.

Both boys were sent tumbling head over heels, rolling over the surface of the water for at least 30 yards a-piece before both fell beneath the surface. As physics would dictate, neither stayed beneath for long. both boys were competent swimmers and had plenty of oxygen in their chests to be able to rise to the surface. Using the abilities inherent to Shinobi, Sasuke then climbed back on top of the surface of the water, having recovered faster than his former teammate.

Naruto simply lay there, floating on his back upon the lake's surface, taking a moment to absorb the ramifications of his situation. after everything that had occurred between them, he couldn't believe what was happening.  
'there's no doubt about it, you're serious, serious about…killing me… aren't you Sasuke?'  
Turning his head to the side the only response he got was a glare from piercing blood-red eyes and an arrogant smirk that was typical of the raven-haired prodigy.

Despite the failure of the full-powered version of his most lethal technique, Sasuke was completely confident.  
'That Jutsu of his, it's too powerful to beat in a show of force, i need to outmanoeuvre him. All I need to do is create an opening, but I need more speed to do so,' and with that he released the restraint binding the cursed seal on his neck, Allowing this darker chakra to spread across his body, greatly increasing his physical attributes. 'I just need to psyche him out, then line him up, and hit him with another Chidori.'

Roughly 60 yards away Naruto had by now clumsily clambered back on to his feet. His heart wasn't in this fight, unlike Sasuke he had no intention of killing his teammate, the teammate whose voice now called out to him.  
"Did you know Naruto?" the Uchiha prodigy began, Flame-like black marks adorning his face,  
"Two Shinobi, when at a high enough level, are able to read each other's thoughts with a simple exchange of fists?" Naruto remained speechless.  
"You're Naïve, Naruto"  
at this, Naruto looked up once more, Defiance burning in his eyes. He looked up to see a face that he barely recognized. The curse marks weren't even the point that Naruto took in, it was his expression…

Even at his most arrogant, even at his highest boiling point of rage, Sasuke had never worn an expression like that, a look that suggested that not only was Naruto not worthy of his time, but that he'd be killed for such an offense as to even look at someone so far above him, and killed with sadistic pleasure at that.

"What do you think?" the brooding Uchiha asked, relishing in the thought that his ambition would soon find new ground, ready to carry out his plan.  
"Were you truly able to read my mind?" Sasuke dropped into a more combat-ready stance  
"WERE YOU ABLE TO READ MY INTENT?" Raising his voice to a guttural bellow, Sasuke weaved hand signs for his next attack.  
"KATON: Housenka no Jutsu!" with that a flurry of small flames flew from Sasuke's mouth, directly at his blonde adversary, Naruto jumped over the onrushing attack comfortably.

'Perfect.' and with that the Uchiha Prodigy disappeared with a blur of motion, reappearing right next to Naruto's airborne frame,

'You can't dodge me in the air' Sasuke thought as he delivered a devastating hook to Naruto's jaw, which sent him soaring back down to the surface of the lake,

Landing hard but still able to keep his balance on the water, Naruto hardly had a chance to react as Sasuke landed behind him, rushing in to resume his assault. He doubled Naruto over and knocked the wind out of him with a solid punch to the gut, Before following up with a right hook to the blonde's face. reeling from the prodigy's assault Naruto's attempts to retaliate were cut short by a hand lifting him up by his throat.

Naruto opened his eyes only to see the white flashing and hear the consistent chirping that could only mean one thing. And he quickly attempted the only thing he could do to prevent it.  
"IT'S TOO LATE FOR THAT NARUTO!"  
Sasuke's advanced vision had given him all the warning signs he needed as Naruto's Chakra began to rise from his body, visible as a deep orange flame.

"Chidori!"

Sasuke's lightning enhanced arm pierced into Naruto's chest, like a knife through butter, before blasting out through his back, eliticing a guttural cry of pain from the blonde jinchuuriki. The water beneath the pair was dyed crimson by the blood flowing out from the gaping wound, that went straight through Naruto's chest.

Naruto had managed to slightly knock Sasuke's aim aside to his left. But nowhere near enough for it to matter. half of his pulmonary arteries were now leaking life-blood, and with the hole in the left of his chest a major portion of his lung would be missing too. But Sasuke knew from a year's experience, he knew, NEVER to underestimate Naruto, that healing ability of his could still activate, so Sasuke kept his arm where it was...

Naruto as to be expected was in very visible agony, he could feel his chakra slowly leaving him. Sasuke's arm was still there to prevent the wound from sealing and lightning chakra was still surging through his nerves, and to top that Sasuke's arm was acting like a plug, slowing the rate at which Naruto was losing blood. his injuries were too severe for the Kyuubi's chakra to properly circulate, especially with the lightning rod-arm of a resistor in the way. meaning for all intents and purposes this was going to be a very slow, very painful death.

"I'll still…bring you…back, I promised…Sakura" Naruto growled out, swinging his right arm again, defiant to the last.

"In the condition you're in you'll only be going back alone, in a body bag!" Sasuke replied viciously, while merely tilting his head to avoid Naruto's feeble punch,  
"So much for your ambition to become Hokage!"

"I can't... I can't be Hokage... What kind… of Hokage… can't even save one friend?" Naruto mournfully cut back, tears welling up in his eyes.

Sasuke's sharingan-enhanced eyes widened. Naruto was supposed to be unbreakable! He always had been, nothing ever got to him. He was an emotional rock. but it wasn't his own death he was mourning, it was the loss of his friend.

With that thought the curse marks on Sasuke's face turned red and began to recede back to his neck, the removal of the curse seal's influence became apparent immediately, Sasuke was not shocked, he was not horrified at what the corruption of such power had made him do, he had intended to do such things regardless, what shocked him was the manner in which he did these things.

Realizing this, Sasuke abruptly pulled his arm out of Naruto's chest, ending his long-lasting Chidori as he did so. Naruto began to feel weaker, and weaker, he could feel his consciousness slipping.  
"I'm sorry... Sakura, I couldn't... bring...him...home, I... couldn't keep my...word."

Naruto's eyes closed. Never to open again.

* * *

Sasuke lost track of how long he stood there. Still holding on to Naruto by the collar of his jacket, he dragged Naruto to the bank of the Lake, on the Oto side. he owed Naruto that at least, he owed him more than to just let him sink to the bottom of a fathoms deep lake never to be found. Placing down his motionless team-mate softly on a large flat stone, Sasuke simply sat there half expecting the blonde spring back up. this being another of his elaborate pranks. This was not the case, Naruto was gone.

He had just killed one of the only people to consider him a true friend. Not as the good looking guy in their class, not as "The Last Uchiha". but as Sasuke, as a true friend. He could not see it himself, but as he sat there, there was vague movement in his still active Sharingan, as the pattern of his tear-ridden eyes shifted, Itachi had not lied, and the murder of his best friend, had yielded The greatest prize, at the very highest of costs...

* * *

**Sorry for the length, but it's not the size that counts it's how you use it ;)**

**I'll see how this goes review wise before i go crazy on updates.**

**Jutsu Run Down:**

**Rasengan:** Spiralling Sphere:  Naruto's signature Jutsu, pure Chakra, condensed to ball form, rotating in many directions for each layer of chakra, Damage-dealer

**Chidori: **One-Thousand Birds: Sasuke's signature Jutsu, originally Kakashi's creation, elemental chakra in the form of lightning. named for the sound it produces.

**Katon: Housenka No Jutsu:** Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu:  pretty standard fire jutsu, a barrage of small fireballs, not very powerful, usually a distraction.

**Irish out!**

**Thanks to DreamOfStories for getting me to buck my ideas up grammar-wise. I hope this draft is better than the original.**


	2. The Value of a Life

**A/N ****Hello all! I'm glad to see that the first chapter was warmly received; now let me clarify some things.**

* * *

**Review responses: **

**Guest: **** Team 7 has four members; removing one doesn't make this a non-team 7 fic. This story will focus heavily on the relations between each of the remaining team members, how Naruto affected them in life, and how his death has affected them.**

**DreamOfStories: **** I already addressed this at the end of last chapter but thanks for motivating me to improve my grammar; I feel that even some of the subtler changes I made vastly improve the story, so thanks for your help.**

**Pasta Sentient: ****O_o. Oh crap, I now have expectations on me?! I hope not to disappoint ;)**

* * *

**(You know it's no wonder my grammar is bad. with Microsoft word as an example, it listed "Oh crap, I now have expectations on me?" as a mistake, wanting me to change it to "Oh crap, I now **_**has **_**Expectations on me?"  
Can I has expectations?**

**Well anyway, on with the story!**

* * *

I Do not own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto does, why I need to put a disclaimer on a site entirely loaded with NOTHING but similarly copyrighted content is beyond me. But I guess I'll bite.

* * *

**The Regrets of a Wayward Shinobi Chapter 2:  
The Value of a Life.  
**

'I need to hurry!' So went the thought process of a silver haired man running through a wide expanse of forest. He was about a kilometre away from the scar on the landscape which denoted the border between his home-country and hostile territory.  
'I shouldn't have left them alone.'  
Feeling the patter of water on his head, Kakashi Hatake looked to the skies.  
"Rain" he stated worriedly, "can you still pick up their scent Pakkun?"  
"Just barely." The gruff reply came from a light-brown miniature pug, one wearing the headband of a Konoha Shinobi,  
"We're close, this way!" he continued, adjusting his heading slightly east-ward.  
Trusting his Ninken's instincts, Kakashi did so too.

* * *

Hearing a rustling sound from the opposite side of the valley, Sasuke leapt to his feet. He had lingered here, shocked at the outcome of his battle, for too long. Looking to the tree-line atop the valley his enhanced vision caught two blurs of motion, one blur of Tan brown and dark blue, and one of silver, green and dark blue. He could predict who it was before it even happened. And confirming his suspicions his former Sensei landed fifty yards away at the other side of the valley.

Kakashi had his headband raised, exposing the Sharingan eye which he usually kept concealed. He looked more serious than Sasuke had ever seen him be before. The eyes of the two Shinobi met, Sharingan to Sharingan.

Kakashi looked his student in the eyes to find an unfamiliar sight. Sasuke's eyes had taken on the usual red and black of the Sharingan, however the pattern was unusual, having changed to three intersecting black ellipses with red Sclera, he immediately put two and two together.

"Sasuke…what have you done?" Kakashi wouldn't forget the Mangekyo, not after the power of those eyes left him in a coma not a month prior. To his knowledge there was only one way to attain this Dojutsu. A quick scan using his own Sharingan yielded Kakashi with an answer, as his eyes settled on the broken form of his other student, the son of the man who taught Kakashi everything he knew. Even with his vision he could see no signs of life.  
"Naruto!"

Sasuke visibly flinched at the tone of Kakashi's yell. He had heard his sensei laugh, he had heard him when he was angry or serious, but he never thought he would hear him cry out with such sorrow.

Kakashi's eyes turned back to Sasuke with a cold glare,  
"Sasuke, You-?"  
"Yes…" Sasuke didn't need or want to hear Kakashi's next words, knowing what he had done already. He didn't need further confirmation.  
He stood there, waiting for Kakashi to react.

"At least his Last mission won't end in failure, I'm taking you back Sasuke" Kakashi's tone was sombre, but serious.  
"NO!" Sasuke threw his body into a combat stance; he surprised himself with the force with which he spoke.  
"I did this for a reason, I'm going to Orochimaru, I'm going to get stronger, I'm going to find Itachi, and then I'll Kill him." Weaving hand seals once more while taking a deep breath, Sasuke made one last bid to escape.  
"KATON: Goukakyou no Jutsu!"

A fireball at least 8 metres in diameter raced towards Kakashi, where It impacted with an eruption of fire and smoke.  
'I can't back down now… I can't go back. But there's no way in hell I can beat him one-on-one' Sasuke's mind went into overdrive while his eyes scanned the dissipating smoke for any signs of movement.  
This process was interrupted by a sharp blow to the back of his neck, which rendered Sasuke unconscious, his Mangekyo deactivating as he fell. Kakashi was standing no-worse-for-wear behind him.

Grateful for the clarity that silence brought, Kakashi lowered his headband back over his left eye.  
"It's over; I won't lose two students in one day."  
The success of Kakashi's mission couldn't relieve him, he had failed. He had failed Team 7. He had failed Sakura, he had failed Sasuke, he had failed Naruto and by extension he had Failed Konoha.

The Kyuubi was now dead. But unlike its host it would return. In exactly 3 years the Kyuubi would return at the valley of the end. And it would need to be resealed. This would not be an easy job by any means. But that was a year away; Kakashi dragged his mind back to the present.

Biting his thumb to release a small amount of blood, Kakashi then clapped his bleeding hand to the ground.  
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu."  
From the ground rose a large cloud of white smoke, a Bulldog, which even when in a sitting position could skim its ears against Kakashi's chest, emerged from the smoke.  
"Hello Bull, I have something for you to carry,"  
an affirmative bark was his response, Bull being the only one of Kakashi's dogs that was incapable of speech,

Having decided to carry Naruto's body back himself under a white sheet, Kakashi tied Sasuke's unconscious form to his gargantuan summoned hound. Kakashi led his two hounds back into the tree-line in the direction of Konoha, sparing one last glance at the valley where Naruto Uzumaki died.

'I'm so sorry, Naruto…' gently stepping from branch to branch at half his usual pace. Kakashi recollected memories of his team,

'I taught you so little, I was a terrible teacher to you and Sakura. I shouldn't have neglected your training so much.'  
the fact that Naruto, whom he had not taught anything to, was killed by Sasuke using Chidori, a technique which Kakashi taught him, said everything that needed to be said.  
'Forgive me Naruto, Forgive me, Minato-sensei." And for the first time in years the Jounin let go of his detached manner, allowing himself to shed a few tears for yet another person he failed to save.

* * *

Kakashi's departure had been observed, unbeknownst to him, by two different entities.

'Orochimaru-sama will not be pleased' Kabuto Yakushi thought to himself as he raced back to Otogakure to deliver his report.  
'I'm lucky that I'm as skilled medically as I am. If I were anyone else he might kill me on the spot.'

He had arrived at the valley only moments after Kakashi arrived, intending to safely deliver Sasuke to Otogakure after he had seemingly been halted. But Kakashi's arrival had thrown off this plan. Despite Kabuto's skill he was not entirely sure he could fight Kakashi Hatake and live to tell about it.  
Orochimaru needed Kabuto alive more than he needed Sasuke for the time-being.  
'At least that blonde brat is dead' Kabuto's injuries inflicted by Naruto at Tanzaku still hurt him to this day.

The other observer stood at the other end of the valley, he had a rather more unusual appearance. He had a divisive line down the middle of his body length-ways, splitting his body into two halves, one a ghostly pale white, the other half was a deep black. Partially obscuring his face was what looked like the jaws of a large Venus fly-trap jutting from his shoulders. He had short green hair and yellow eyes with the sclera of his eyes matching the half of the body they were on. He also wore a long black cloak adorned with a pattern of red clouds; this obscured the rest of his unusual body.

"Leader-sama must be informed. The Kyuubi will run free in exactly three years." He spoke with a deep rattling voice.  
"Well who knows, maybe capturing the Kyuubi will be easier without the protection of a Jinchuriki and his village?" another higher pitched voice emanated from the same mouth.  
"Perhaps, but regardless of the circumstances he must be informed. This changes everything,"

* * *

Shikamaru Nara sat in the hallway outside an operating room of Konoha hospital with his father nearby; he had returned with Temari not ten minutes ago and received word of his isolated teammates.

Kiba Inuzuka was badly injured, suffering a major stab wound among other injuries; however his condition was not critical and he was recovering under observation.  
The same could not be said of Choji Akimichi or Neji Hyuuga. Both were barely hanging on, they had both been brought back by Konoha's medical Corps who had been dispatched to assist the inexperienced team.  
No word had yet been received of their fifth team member, but Shikamaru could only hope that he was faring better.

The five of them had set out with one thing in mind, to bring Sasuke Uchiha home, preferably alive. As the mission dragged on they were separated from each other, resulting in one-on-one fights against Sasuke's far more experienced escort. They had all been lucky to survive. Shikamaru had gotten away with mere superficial wounds and a broken finger,

"What kind of leader am I? Every decision I made cost us dearly…" Shikamaru knew who to blame for the failures of this mission, Him and him alone.  
He, the leader of the team, the only one of his year that the Seniority of Konoha's military felt comfortable to promote had allowed his teammates to take the fall for him.  
"I am not cut out to be a ninja,"

At this point Temari cut him off.  
"You're unexpectedly fragile aren't you? You should be prepared for this. I thought you were a man, not a child"  
"I failed my team, the only thing I could do was leave them behind to fight their own battles, I didn't have the strength, it's my fault they're injured." Shikamaru continued with his self-loathing as he stood up and began to walk down the hall, before being cut off again,

"Shikamaru…" the voice of Shikaku Nara; his father, was enough for him to stop.  
"You're just going to let a woman speak to you in that manner and then run away? That's not like you."  
"I don't see the point in dragging on an argument. I'm not a woman." He replied deftly. .  
"You're no man either… you're being a coward." Shikaku turned to face his son. "Even if you resign, missions will continue, your friends will be sent out again, and without you to lead them they may not survive. This was a bad experience, but you reflect on it, and you learn from it, to do better next time. Don't abandon your friends, become stronger for them!"

The hall went into dead silence after Shikaku finished speaking, As Shikamaru reflected on his father's words. The silence was broken moments later as Tsunade Senju, current Hokage of Konoha burst out from the operating room beside them.

"The operation was a success! Choji's in the clear for now." The greatest medic in Konoha's history was a well-deserved title for the woman, consumption of the Akimichi clan's Sanshoku no Gan'yaku was usually seen as a certain death situation.

Shikamaru let out a sigh of relief.  
"Alright, now three out of five are clear, come on Neji, Naruto, you need to make it too." He voiced his thoughts aloud, Tsunade merely nodded in response.

The sound of a door bursting open down the hall broke both of their concentration.  
"TSUNADE-SAMA!" Tsunade's close friend and assistant Shizune came running down the hall from the opened door.  
"Shizune/Shizune-san?" The voices of Shikamaru and Tsunade rang out at once.

"Neji Hyuuga is clear, his wounds are sealed, and he's going to recover." Shizune panted out Shikamaru nodded triumphantly, breaking into a smile for the first time since he returned.  
"There's more, Kakashi has returned, he's brought Sasuke with him." She continued.  
At this Shikamaru let out an uncharacteristic whoop of joy.

Tsunade however, being more experienced in these kinds of details spotted a discrepancy that Shikamaru, in his joyful state, had not calculated.  
"Shizune, you didn't mention Naruto…"

At this Shikamaru immediately came down from his emotional high, fixing Shizune with a lifeless stare.  
"Naruto… was killed in action..." Shizune couldn't look the young chunin in the eye.  
Shikamaru dropped to his knees, staring into the ground, tears slowly forming  
"No, Not him… not Naruto… how could it happen?"

"Sasuke killed him before Kakashi could get to them." Shizune stated staring at the ground herself while fighting off tears.

"I didn't ask how _DID _it happen I asked how **COULD** it happen?" Shikamaru shouted, now glaring at Tsunade,  
"HOW MANY LIVES IS THE SHARINGAN WORTH?! I'd rather have one Naruto then a hundred Sasukes! DAMMIT!" Shikamaru punched the ground hard, Drawing blood from his knuckles. Even his closest friends had never seen him get this emotional; the laid back Chunin did have an emotional epicentre. Now to the point of sobbing; he hadn't just lost a comrade. He had lost a friend.

Tsunade didn't respond, she merely walked away slowly, all the spring that was in her step when she brought news of Choji was now gone.  
'Hokage truly is a cursed ambition, Dan, Nawaki, Naruto; hard work can't always save you… I need to break the news to Sakura and Jiraiya.' Her feet, by the instinct of repetition alone had carried her halfway to the Hokage tower, she needed to break the news first, and then she could have her own moment. Duty came first.

* * *

[Two hours later.]

Sakura Haruno woke with a start, hearing a knock at her house door. Moments later she heard a familiar voice shout up the stairs,  
"Sakura there's a message for you, it says to head to the Hokage tower immediately" the voice of Sakura's mother rang out from the floor below.  
"One minute, mother," Sakura replied groggily, wiping sleep from her eyes.  
After making herself decent she descended the stairs, giving her alarm clock a glance before she did so. It read as 11:21, she had planned on getting an early night, having not slept properly since Sasuke's departure. With a start she realized,  
'that must be why I'm being summoned! There is no other reason for it.' with that thought she rushed out through the door, walking at a high pace towards the Hokage tower.

Meanwhile in the tower Jiraiya and Tsunade faced each other, Tsunade being sat at her desk. A vein popping in her forehead.  
"Well you can't blame me for misinterpreting!" the toad sage enthusiastically chanted.  
"Your message said to come to the tower,saying specifically to come '_alone', _I thought this was the day I had been waiting for since I was 12, can you blame me for being eager what with you having such nice Ti-"

"Jiraiya! Shut up!" the woman could usually bear Jiraiya's perverted antics to a certain extent, but not today.  
He noted her tone immediately, her usual response to his perversion was to punch him or ignore him, the fact that she hadn't done either of those meant something was up.  
"What happened?"

"Shikamaru's team have returned to the village, their mission was a success. Kakashi brought Sasuke Uchiha back an hour ago."  
"Well that's good. Orochimaru is dangerous enough without the Sharingan, but that's obviously not all there is to it. You wouldn't be this shaken otherwise." Jiraiya speculated.  
"Jiraiya. Take a seat. This might come as a bit of a shock." Tsunade let out a deep sorrowful sigh, before she recounted Shikamaru and Kakashi's reports.

* * *

"Sakura-san, the Hokage will see you now." Shizune was working as an impromptu receptionist for Tsunade; she often did so at times where Tsunade would otherwise be swamped by multiple meetings. And between Kakashi, Jiraiya, the Landlord of Naruto's apartment complex, Shikamaru and multiple others, this was one of those times.

"Thank you Shizune-san" the Pink-haired kunoichi replied politely, before stepping past Shizune's desk and up a flight of stairs. Walking through the hallway she passed a man dressed in a red Haori, with long white hair tied in a long ponytail, why did she notice this man? It was his expression; no living human's eyes should look that lifeless. It was frankly frightening. Still in spite of that she continued walking to the Hokage's office.

Tsunade registered a knock at the door. "Come in."  
"Hello Hokage-sama, you summoned me?" Sakura replied timidly while peeking around the door.. When it came time to receive orders it was usually Kakashi who did the talking, Naruto was the only genin she knew who had been brazen enough to speak directly on terms with either the Sandaime or Tsunade, almost like it was par-for-the-course with his ambition of taking that chair one day.

"Yes Sakura, I felt it adequate you receive the report on your teammates. So, First thing's first. Kakashi brought Sasuke back about an hour ago. The mission was a success. "  
Sakura was about to go off on a gleeful tangent. But Tsunade wouldn't led her ascend to happiness only to crush her dreams with the next sentence.  
"However, there was a casualty." She cut in quickly  
Sakura's eyes widened in horror.  
"Naruto fought Sasuke one-on-one at the valley of the end… Sasuke killed him in cold blood."  
"No… that can't be, Sasuke wouldn't do that!" Sakura screamed, horrified.  
"Naruto's wound was consistent with a Chidori, too small to be Kakashi's Raikiri, there is only one person that could have inflicted that wound, and Sasuke admitted to it himself." Tsunade hated herself more and more with each sentence, but the kid had to know.

"NO!" Sakura's screaming persisted, "I begged him to bring Sasuke back and he kept his promise! He can't be dead!"  
"I'm sorry Sakura." Tsunade was now fighting back tears. Sakura had lost that fight long ago, and who could blame her.

"It's…my fault... I made him go, he died because of me…" Sakura's screaming lowered to a gasping breath, "I Killed my teammate! Naruto's dead…because…of me…" she had begun to hyper-ventilate, hearing only a few words before she lost consciousness,  
"Sakura, Breathe, stay with me."

* * *

**Holy FUCKBALLS was that a hard chapter to write! Maybe going for such heavy emotion on only my second chapter was a mistake, well, Even if it's horseshit. You can learn from your mistakes.**

**I tried my best to keep everyone in character, ('cept for Shikamaru, him acting out of character was the whole point for his reaction.) and I'm truly sorry if I failed in this endeavour.**

**Almost twice as long as last chapter so that's a plus. You'll all get a better idea of how this plans out by next chapter too.**

**Anyway please leave a review.**

**Jutsu list:**

**Sharingan: (Forgot this last time.) **a Dojutsu (visual jutsu) exclusive to the Uchiha (barring Kakashi and one other character, allows the user to see in slow motion while also hypnotizing an opponent slightly with eye-to-eye glances. Excellent for genjutsu, improves reaction time to help taijutsu, and allows the user to analyse and copy enemy ninjutsu. (just typing that out made me realize how OP the Sharingan is…)

**Mangekyo Sharingan: **just because the Sharingan isn't OP enough, it has an even more POWERFUL FORM! Techniques are unique to the user, and can only be unlocked by a Sharingan wielder experiencing the duress of killing his closest friend.

**Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Summoning Jutsu: **summons an animal according to the animal contract that the summoner has signed. They are several areas throughout the continent where these summons live in communities such as Mount Myoboku, the residence of toad summons. A Shinobi can only sign ONE summon contract.

Kakashi =Dogs  
Naruto/Jiraiya = Toads  
Orochimaru= Snakes.

**Phew… sorry for the delay on posting this chapter too I just kept adding to it and re-wrote Sakura and Shikamaru's reactions multiple times until they felt right it STILL frankly feels a bit rushed. But I'll let you be the judge. Until next time.  
Irish out.**


	3. Politics

**A/N Hello all! After getting over some writer's block (and religiously attempting to catch up with One piece) I Then returned to college. Unfortunately for my fledgling FF career I needed to establish that as a priority, but after months of perseverance I realized that my local college was completely and utterly terrible, and I pretty much gave up on it. after wallowing about in a continuing state of "I CAN'T BE ARSED" I decided to return and pick up the pen, so to speak…**

**Now, on with the tale I suppose.**

**(Seriously, I've moaned to myself about not having new chapters to read yet I've gone like a year without writing a bloody word, I suck, and I apologize for it, I also apologize that the quality of writing in this chapter is somewhat lacking as I need to get back into my groove)**

* * *

**Chapter 3:  
Politics**

(Streets of Konohagakure)

Jiraiya of the Sannin was generally a good person, a good person albeit a somewhat eccentric and indiscriminately perverted man. He was also a perfect example of why the concept of karma on a cosmic level was pure bullshit.  
How could a good man, who wished wholeheartedly for peace to the point of it being his life's ambition, helped his comrades in every way possible and always granted his respect to those who warranted it, have so much go wrong in his life?

He had fought in a world war. Where he gained three orphaned students, and soon after tragically lost them, he gained the prodigious Minato Namikaze as a student, who also met his end in the line of duty, he was betrayed and abandoned by his comrade and best friend, Orochimaru, the same man who went on to kill their shared Sensei in a battle of mad ambition. And now… Naruto.

Being Jiraiya's student could now actively be considered a cause of death of it's own. Perhaps the prophecies of the Sage toad were not infallible, or perhaps the weight of such a destiny was just too much to carry, he now actively feared taking another student, the chances of such a student actually being the child of prophecy seemed miniscule compared to the chance of the student dying an early death.

This world of Shinobi was indeed dark if a 13 year old boy's death could be so commonplace.

He had a haggard appearance, one that immediately suggested lack of sleep, lack of hygiene, lack of sobriety or perhaps a bit of all three. His eyes looked unfocused, almost dead, and underneath them were dark bags, his hair was vaguely greasy and even more unkempt than usual. And he was walking through the streets of Konoha in an aimless manner.

Despite his seemingly aimless wondering, he did in fact have a duty to perform; Tsunade had asked him to attend a village council meeting discussing recent events. Chief among which were the issues of Sasuke's trial, and the death of Naruto,

'Naruto.' Jiraiya recollected his memories of previous meetings which concerned Naruto,  
'I had better be prepared to hear the words, "deterrent" and "weapon" a lot' he thought, bitterly.  
Whenever discussion of Naruto arose in these council meetings it almost always concerned his nature as a Jinchuuriki, rather than his prowess as a young Shinobi. While there were many among the village's population who had begun to sympathise with, or even admire the young Genin, there were still many who saw him as nothing more than an inconvenient but necessary tool and many who still saw him as the demon whom he contained. He hadn't lived long enough to change their pre-conceptions as he had wanted to. That thought brought a solemn tear to the Sannin's eye.

Shaking himself as if to free himself from these mournful thoughts Jiraiya continued his trek to the Hokage's tower.

* * *

It had been 2 days since Kakashi had returned to the village. Many were still reeling from the news.  
Lying down on a thatched rooftop, staring at the clouds above him, was a pineapple-haired youth with a distinctly hard expression on his face.

"Shikamaru!" a familiar voice called out to him.  
"Kiba" came a monotone reply, "The meeting is in half-an-hour isn't it?"  
"Yeah, it is." Kiba, while still mournful of the death of a friend, hadn't been taking things anywhere near as badly as his teammate, although he had now gained a healthy fear of responsibility after seeing it's effects on Shikamaru.  
"Hmm, haven't been keeping track of the time, are we even really needed for this? We already gave our mission reports to the Hokage" despite his opposition Shikamaru rose to his feet  
"it's procedure, bureaucratic bullcrap, you know the kind." Kiba grinned, His pineapple-haired friend was still as lazy as ever, it was nice to know that in the face of overwhelming upheaval some things still stayed the same.  
"such a drag , there's no point anyway," Shikamaru groaned, "The village have likely already made their decision, the Sharingan is worth far more to them than any semblance of justice..."  
"You think Sasuke's gonna get off pretty lightly then?" asked Kiba  
"I'd guarantee it…"  
the bitter tone of his voice was almost palpable, recent events had begun to really shed light on the darker sides of their village.  
"is there anyone else coming, Kiba?"  
"Uh, let's see… Neji and Choji are still in pretty rough shape so they're out, I think Gaara's team and Lee will be there though, Kakashi-Sensei will be there too, and apart from that I don't really know." Said Kiba, while counting the names on his fingers.  
"Troublesome… with all those differing reports this is gonna take a while" Groaned Shikamaru "Might as well get it over with"  
and with that the two of them departed, heading towards the Hokage Tower.

* * *

(Hokage Tower- Meeting Room)

"So while you distracted this Kaguya clan member, Genin Uzumaki slipped ahead in pursuit of Sasuke Uchiha?" The tone of Homura Mitokado was brief, professional and assured, the man was not looking for opinions or sentiment, he was here to acquire the facts,  
"Yes, and that's the last time I saw Naruto-San alive." Lee was stood in the beam of a spotlight in the centre of an otherwise darkly lit room, a chain of tables encircled the centre of the room, just outside the reach of the spotlight, behind Lee and to his right on one of these tables sat Shikamaru, Gaara, Kakashi and Kiba, in front of him sat the newly appointed Hokage Tsunade Senju, with the First Hokage's gem once again around her neck, as well as Jiraiya of the Sannin, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, two well-respected elders of the leaf village, and finally off to his left and behind him sat a handcuffed Sasuke Uchiha, with a Bear-masked Anbu putting him under constant supervision. Notable clan leaders filled the gaps between these people including the fathers of Shikamaru and Kiba

The spotlight was key for these kinds of ordeals, when being stared down by a room of Shinobi veterans in well-lit conditions every subtle facial movement associated with lying was like a flashing neon sign. However there was no sign of a lie on Lee's face, why would there be?

"What of this Kaguya clan member? You confirmed that he was deceased, but what is your appraisal of his abilities? Did he make any reference to any other similar Kekkei-Genkai wielding Shinobi under Orochimaru's command?" Homura continued his line of questioning, to have one of the infamous but supposedly extinct Kaguya clan under his command? How far does Orochimaru's net spread?

"He was an exceptional combatant Sir, his prowess at incorporating his Kekkei-Genkai into Taijutsu and Kenjutsu made him a deadly opponent, without Gaara-san I would have surely been killed and in fact even then we were lucky to survive, he made no references to any other Kekkei-Genkai wielders in Sound's ranks though, and he seemed certain that he was the last surviving member of his own clan,"  
Homura didn't let it show on his face, but he was relieved to hear this, by all reports this "Kimimaro" was of a skill level close to many of Konoha's more elite Jonin, the thought of the sound village having more soldiers of that prowess was frankly frightening,

"You may return to your seat, I have no more questions for you"  
"Yes Sir" Lee offered a quick bow before darting back to his seat next to Gaara,  
"I believe we now have enough information to make a verdict Yamato, Bring Sasuke forward"  
"Yes Sir" the Anbu in the bear mask replied  
Sasuke lazily shuffled forward alongside his guard, seemingly taking an eternity to reach the centre of the room,  
"Sasuke Uchiha, to the count of Murder of a comrade-in-arms, due to insufficient evidence, the council find you… not guilty."  
Kiba would have shot out of his seat if Kakashi hadn't stopped him; the faces along the witness table were a mixture of outrage, and begrudging acceptance, there was only one concrete piece of evidence towards Sasuke being a murderer and that was his own confession.  
'They're playing his admission of guilt as hyperbole…' Kakashi quickly realized, 'they're going to act to the public like it was little more than a training accident by extrapolating Sasuke's confession to be the exaggerations of a guilty conscience, still there needed to be some balance to the equation. Sasuke wouldn't be getting off scot-free.

Sasuke's reaction was somewhat less determinate, the relief shone on his face, he wouldn't be executed and thus he'd be free for the most part to pursue his ambitions. However the verdict did nothing to assuage his guilt.

"To the counts of Manslaughter and gross negligence the council find you…. Guilty,  
the council sentences you to two years of community service, outside of this you will be returned to active duty albeit at docked pay, a seal will be placed on you to prevent any further escape attempts.

The mood in the court-room was tense, everyone knew that Sasuke would get off lighter than practically any other person would, had they committed a similar crime, but even so, the softness of the punishment exceeded the expectations of those who were not an immediate participant in in deciding it.  
'No prison sentence?' Kakashi pondered 'There is definitely an ulterior motive to all this, the Uchiha name carries some clout, but surely not enough to reduce manslaughter to a community service charge'  
Tsunade then stood.  
"Everyone barring Kakashi Hatake, Sasuke Uchiha and Jiraiya, you are hereby dismissed, thank you for the honesty of your reports." She spoke with the lazy drawn tone of someone who was either just waking up or just drifting off to sleep, but even that had enough force behind it for the people she was addressing to obey immediately.

"Right" Tsunade addressed those left in the room, still speaking in a lazy drawl, "first thing's first, Jiraiya, apply the seal if you would,"  
"Right" the white-haired Sannin replied, stepping forward to the centre of the circle where Sasuke stood and pulling out a fine brush "Hold still kid, this won't take long" and so he drew a seal in red ink onto Sasuke's forehead. First a Manji symbol in the centre,  
"This seal is partially based on the Hyuuga "caged bird" seal, although with some key differences, you won't be able to leave the village without me, Kakashi or Tsunade being within 30 yards, as our chakra will be tied to the seal's creation and those tied to the seal's creation can end your life remotely with little effort" Sasuke couldn't help but note the tone of threat behind Jiraiya's voice. The Toad Sannin continued his work drawing a circle around the Symbol, " the seal will also turn completely invisible upon being finished, and any attempt to mention this seal to someone other than us will result in you being temporarily unable to speak," he then finished by drawing a diamond within the circle. "in the event of your death the seal will also destroy your Sharingan"

Sasuke analysed everything that was just said, desperately searching for a loophole and finding none. He honestly didn't expect to find one, between the greatest minds of Konoha nearly every contingency would have been covered, there was no way he could link up with Orochimaru now, perhaps it was for the best? He had begun to regret his decision to leave soon after making it, but he had been set on a path and felt obligated to follow it, now that the path had been forcibly removed from under him he felt more comfortable to not follow it. he was still determined to find his "brother" and claim justice in the name of his clan, that hadn't changed, but Orochimaru's training was no longer an option,  
Jiraiya, Kakashi and Tsunade then rested their hands on Sasuke's head and applied their chakra to the newly created seal.

Sasuke led out a long yell of pain, and immediately slumped, still conscious, but suddenly feeling completely exhausted and with a throbbing pain in his head..  
Tsunade's voice then spoke out "I'm sure you're wondering why we let you off the hook, Sasuke,"  
Sasuke nodded, his curiosity now piqued "Now, keep in mind that this info is highly classified,"  
"You have a Purpose to fulfil for Konoha, Sasuke, one only you can fulfil."  
Now Tsunade had the young Uchiha's full attention.

* * *

"So the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki is dead?" The deep commanding voice seemingly belonging to the leader of Akatsuki echoed throughout the chamber,  
"Yes, Leader, He was killed at the valley of the end," Zetsu's dark half replied,  
"By who?" Pain was enraged, but chose to hide it. When word got out that a Jinchuuriki had died, all the villages would make a play to add another deadly weapon to their arsenal, Jinchuuriki rarely died so close to neutral ground, in fact with their regenerative properties they rarely died in combat at all. This could make claiming the Biju far more difficult, or far easier, depending on pure luck.  
"it was..-"  
"It was Itachi's brother!" Zetsu's dark half was interrupted by his 'other self'  
"he killed Uzumaki and was then recaptured by Copy-Nin Kakashi!" the childlike being continued.  
"Hear that Itachi?" the rough voice of an incredibly tall figure with a massive bandaged _'something'_ on his back spoke out next, "seriously, actually killing any Jinchuuriki is pretty impressive! What did your parents feed you two when you were young?" before itachi could respond, if he even was going to. The deep commanding voice echoed out again.  
"Very well, in 3 years the Kyuubi no Yoko will reform at the site where It's life ended, we must be prepared to claim it, "  
'After all. When a God lays claim to something, there is no earthly force that can override that claim'

**By this point you can probably tell, ROUGHLY what I'm going to do with the story, again, I apologize for the mediocre quality of writing in this chapter.  
trying to tackle political/formal/courtroom dialogue and make it feel right is far more difficult than I thought it would be, I'm still not all that pleased with the end product, but after multiple rewrites I still can't really improve it too much, so this will have to suffice.**

**Irish Out.**


End file.
